Part 1: Thermodynamics

Unit 5
Energy analysis of
open systems
Course: Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
Lecturers: Fernando Cortés, Imanol Sarría, Eduardo
García
Objectives
• Develop the conservation of mass principle.
• Apply the conservation of mass principle to various systems
including steady- and unsteady-flow control volumes.
• Apply the first law of thermodynamics as the statement of the
conservation of energy principle to control volumes.
• Identify the energy carried by a fluid stream crossing a control
surface as the sum of internal energy, flow work, kinetic energy,
and potential energy of the fluid and to relate the combination of
the internal energy and the flow work to the property enthalpy.
• Solve energy balance problems for common steady-flow devices
such as nozzles, compressors, turbines, throttling valves, mixers,
heaters, and heat exchangers.
• Apply the energy balance to general unsteady-flow processes with
particular emphasis on the uniform-flow process as the model for
commonly encountered charging and discharging processes.
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6-1 CONSERVATION OF MASS
Conservation of mass: Mass, like energy, is a conserved property, and it
cannot be created or destroyed during a process.
Closed systems: The mass of the system remain constant during a
process.
Control volumes: Mass can cross the boundaries, and so we must keep
track of the amount of mass entering and leaving the control volume.

Mass m and energy E can be

converted to each other
according to

where c is the speed of light in a

vacuum, which is c = 2.9979 × 108
m/s.

The mass change due to energy

change is negligible.

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Mass and Volume Flow Rates
Definition of
average velocity
Volume flow rate

Mass flow
rate

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Conservation of Mass Principle

The conservation of mass principle for a

control volume: The net mass transfer to
or from a control volume during a time
interval Δt is equal to the net change
(increase or decrease) in the total mass
within the control volume during Δt.

These equations are often referred to

as the mass balance and are
applicable to any control volume
undergoing any kind of process.
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the time rate of change of mass within the control volume plus the
net mass flow rate through the control surface is equal to zero.

General
conservation of
mass in rate form 5
Mass Balance for Steady-Flow Processes
During a steady-flow process, the total amount of mass contained within a
control volume does not change with time (mCV = constant).
Then the conservation of mass principle requires that the total amount of mass
entering a control volume equal the total amount of mass leaving it.

For steady-flow processes, we are

interested in the amount of mass flowing per
unit time, that is, the mass flow rate.
Multiple inlets
and exits
Single
stream

Many engineering devices such as nozzles,

diffusers, turbines, compressors, and
pumps involve a single stream (only one
inlet and one outlet).

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Special Case: Incompressible Flow
The conservation of mass relations can be simplified even further when
the fluid is incompressible, which is usually the case for liquids.

Steady,
incompressible

Steady,
incompressible
flow (single stream)

There is no such thing as a “conservation of

volume” principle.
For steady flow of liquids, the volume flow
rates, as well as the mass flow rates,
remain constant since liquids are essentially
incompressible substances.

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6-2 FLOW WORK AND THE
ENERGY OF A FLOWING FLUID
Flow work, or flow energy: The work (or energy)
required to push the mass into or out of the control
volume. This work is necessary for maintaining a
continuous flow through a control volume.

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Total Energy of a Flowing Fluid
The flow energy is
automatically taken
care of by enthalpy.
h = u + Pv In fact, this is the
main reason for
defining the property
enthalpy.

The total energy consists of three parts for a nonflowing fluid and
four parts for a flowing fluid. 9
Energy Transport by Mass

When the kinetic and potential energies

of a fluid stream are negligible

When the properties of the mass at

each inlet or exit change with time
as well as over the cross section

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6-3 ENERGY ANALYSIS OF
STEADY-FLOW SYSTEMS

Steady-flow process: A process

during which a fluid flows through
a control volume steadily.
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Mass and Energy balances
for a steady-flow process

A water
heater in
Mass steady
balance operation.

Energy
balance

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Energy balance relations with sign
conventions (i.e., heat input and work
output are positive)

The units m2/s2 and J/kg

are equivalent.

when kinetic and potential energy

changes are negligible

Under steady
operation, shaft work At very high velocities,
and electrical work even small changes in
are the only forms of velocities can cause
work a simple significant changes in
compressible system the kinetic energy of the
may involve. fluid. 13
6-4 SOME STEADY-FLOW ENGINEERING DEVICES
Many engineering devices operate essentially under the same conditions
for long periods of time. The components of a steam power plant (turbines,
compressors, heat exchangers, and pumps), for example, operate nonstop for
months before the system is shut down for maintenance. Therefore, these devices
can be conveniently analyzed as steady-flow devices.

A modern land-based gas turbine used for electric power

production. This is a General Electric LM5000 turbine. It
has a length of 6.2 m, it weighs 12.5 tons, and produces
55.2 MW at 3600 rpm with steam injection. 14
Nozzles and Diffusers Nozzles and diffusers are commonly
utilized in jet engines, rockets,
spacecraft, and even garden hoses.
A nozzle is a device that increases the
velocity of a fluid at the expense of
pressure.
A diffuser is a device that increases
the pressure of a fluid by slowing it
down.
The cross-sectional area of a nozzle
decreases in the flow direction for
subsonic flows and increases for
supersonic flows. The reverse is true
for diffusers.

Energy
balance for
a nozzle or
diffuser:

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Turbines and
Turbine drives the electric generator In
Compressors steam, gas, or hydroelectric power plants.
As the fluid passes through the turbine,
work is done against the blades, which are
attached to the shaft. As a result, the shaft
rotates, and the turbine produces work.
Compressors, as well as pumps and
fans, are devices used to increase the
pressure of a fluid. Work is supplied to
these devices from an external source
through a rotating shaft.
A fan increases the pressure of a gas
slightly and is mainly used to mobilize a
Energy balance for the gas.
compressor in this figure: A compressor is capable of compressing
the gas to very high pressures.
Pumps work very much like compressors
except that they handle liquids instead of
gases.

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 Throttling valves are any kind of flow-restricting devices
Throttling valves that cause a significant pressure drop in the fluid.
What is the difference between a turbine and a
throttling valve?
The pressure drop in the fluid is often accompanied by a
large drop in temperature, and for that reason throttling
devices are commonly used in refrigeration and air-
conditioning applications.

Energy
balance

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Mixing chambers
In engineering applications, the section where
the mixing process takes place is commonly
referred to as a mixing chamber.

Energy balance for the

adiabatic mixing chamber in
the figure is:

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Heat exchangers
Heat exchangers are devices
where two moving fluid
streams exchange heat
without mixing. Heat
exchangers are widely used in
various industries, and they
come in various designs.

The heat transfer associated with a

heat exchanger may be zero or
nonzero depending on how the
control volume is selected.

Mass and energy balances

for the adiabatic heat
exchanger in the figure is:

A heat exchanger can

be as simple as two
concentric pipes. 19
Pipe and duct flow
The transport of liquids or gases in
pipes and ducts is of great importance
in many engineering applications. Flow
through a pipe or a duct usually satisfies
the steady-flow conditions.
Pipe or duct flow may involve more than
one form of work at the same time.

Heat losses from

a hot fluid Energy balance for the pipe
flowing through flow shown in the figure is
an uninsulated
pipe or duct to
the cooler
environment
may be very
significant.
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6-5 ENERGY ANALYSIS OF
UNSTEADY-FLOW PROCESSES
Many processes of interest, involve Charging of a rigid
changes within the control volume tank from a supply
with time. Such processes are line is an unsteady-
called unsteady-flow, or transient- flow process since it
flow, processes. involves changes
within the control
Most unsteady-flow processes can volume.
be represented reasonably well by
the uniform-flow process.
Uniform-flow process: The fluid
flow at any inlet or exit is uniform
and steady, and thus the fluid
properties do not change with time The shape and
or position over the cross section size of a control
of an inlet or exit. If they do, they volume may
are averaged and treated as change during an
constants for the entire process. unsteady-flow
process. 21
 Mass balance

Energy
balance

A uniform-flow
system may
involve
electrical, shaft,
and boundary
work all at
once.

The energy equation of a uniform-flow

system reduces to that of a closed system
when all the inlets and exits are closed. 22
 Summary
• Conservation of mass
9 Mass and volume flow rates
9 Mass balance for a steady-flow process
9 Mass balance for incompressible flow
• Flow work and the energy of a flowing fluid
9 Energy transport by mass
• Energy analysis of steady-flow systems
• Some steady-flow engineering devices
9 Nozzles and Diffusers
9 Turbines and Compressors
9 Throttling valves
9 Mixing chambers and Heat exchangers
9 Pipe and Duct flow
• Energy analysis of unsteady-flow processes

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